Too Busy! I have come to the conclusion that all of us are too busy in our lives! Throw away the watches! Throw away the clocks! Live your day from sunrise to sunset without rushing to the next appointment, the next thing to do, the next agenda item! Whew! We all race around too much!

Do you remember some of your childhood days when you were actually bored? How I wish I had the time of those days but, sad to say, I might use that time to "get things done." We live in a culture that encourages excessive motion in our lives. Try going to Italy for a week and you will understand when you wee mostly North Americans going out all afternoon when the rest of Italy is wisely taking a siesta!

Today in the Northeast, we have a beautiful, crisp, autumn-colored day. A great day to go for a walk! I just ate my lunch at the desk and am wondering, "Should I take a brisk walk on this beautiful day?" My other thoughts continue, "No! I have too much work to do!" Well, perhaps I would be more productive if I moved around a bit.

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How 'bout you? Do you sometimes want to throw off the "Too busy," "Too much work," "Too complicated" excuses for living your life to the fullest? If not now, when?

"Brothers and sisters:I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want . . ." Romans 7: 18-25A

St. Paul, like the blind person in this picture, was blind, as I am often blind. I am not talking about physical blindness right now, but about the inner blindness that acknowledges that I do have temptations in my life which take hold of me and lead me away from the good I know I am created to do. I can be interiorly blind for my entire life, if I am not sensitive to God's grace working in me and around me. St. Augustine said this another way in his Confessions:

Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.

It is a great grace from God to know that I am blind and need God's help to see. It is a gift from God to know myself so well that I stop denying that I am sinful. This does not mean that I am not good. It means that I am human and like the greatest of saints, Paul, Augustine, John Paul II, and saints-on-the-way, Blessed Celine, Blessed Alice and Venerable Mother Hedwig, I need to let God brake through my deafness and help me to see. When God does this I am moved to say "Thanks be to God!"

I will try not to be discouraged when I sin or give in to temptations that seem to plague me. This is my road to holiness. This is my way of carrying my personal cross. My temptations and sins are mine and not yours and vice-versa. Isn't that what Pope Francis is saying when he calls us to the coming Year of Mercy? Perhaps we can all learn the true meaning of his often quoted "Who am I to judge?" and grow in mercy towards ourselves and others. Lord, may our eyes be opened more and more as you continue to draw us to Yourself.

If you look at the clipart to the left of this page, you see the image of a person leaping somewhere. Is he leaping for joy or for fright? Both of those options bring emotions into play which touch deeply within the heart. I think too, that no matter what is causing him to leap, trust is most definitely involved.

Trust is the virtue that helps us take risks in life and part of the many risks we take is the risk to love another. Fear is part of the risk-taking process. Will he or she or they accept my love or reject it? Will my ideas and competence come into question if I approach my employer with an idea? If I disagree with another, will it cause a problem I don't really want to deal with? We seem to trust a lot in life, and find security when we begin to know who is trustworthy and who really is not.

Jesus left the apostles and disciples on that first Holy Thursday night and with a shuddering finality on the first Good Friday. Their trust and confidence was shaken to the core. Yet, we know the rest of the story. He did not leave them for long. He rose again!

I think the same pattern of trust, fear and trust again happens to us today. God loves us and we know it and sometimes are able to fall into the open hands that wait to hold us. Sometimes we don't even want to try to trust God with our problems. Are we afraid that we might be asked to change something about ourselves? Do we realize that God will never hurt us?

I think the apostles and disciples had a dose of trust and confidence when the Risen Jesus visited them many times to allay their fears. His mantra so many times to them after his Resurrection was "Peace" and "Do not be afraid." They trusted so much that, when faced with death, they embraced the martyrdom that was asked of them.

One of my favorite movies, Choices of the Heart with actress Melissa Gilbert, ends with her in heaven, reciting the well-known Footprints Prayer." When she gets to the last line that say, "It was then that I carried you," the expression on her face is so moving. She has gone through suffering and a martyr's death and yet, despite it all, believes that she had been carried by God, even though not spared the cost that would be asked of her as a contemporary disciple. Trust is like that.

Will you pray with me for an increase of trust in our lives tonight? Will you pray for those who are suffering greatly right now, and ask God to carry them?

Our parishioners traveled to NYC yesterday to visit the 911 Museum. Today, the discussions upon their return have been touching and sad. We can and should never forget this horrific tragedy.

Life goes on and many of the children of those who died on September 11, 2001 are adults now. Some widows and widowers from this devastating day are remarried. Many deep wounds are healed and some are still in need of healing. First responders and others in the City that day are now experiencing serious health issues from breathing in the heavy air filled with dust, ashes and debris at the site. Though life goes on, we can never forget the cost and the anguish of this day.

We said we will never forget. Many of us had our Flag on our cars, in our home windows and on our lapels. The upside of this day was that we were united in our grief and shock. We were united in patriotism and anger that such an evil deed could be thrust upon us. We said that we would never let this happen again.

Are we still as united today? Or are we distracted by some of the "issues" that are far less important? I don't have an answer for this, but I think it may be good for us to revisit the gifts that we have been given, personally and as a nation. We can take so much for granted and we can find so much wrong in a country that has so much right in it.

We are saturated with political talks and commentaries by political parties as we anticipate the 2016 Presidential Election. I am trying to find substance in what the various parties present to us. What does it mean to "make America great again"? How are we called to alleviate poverty in and beyond our own country? How will we do this is a purely just way? Have we lost our sense of respect for each other? Do we realize that we are more and more becoming a violent nation? Why do we elect representatives that do not address these and other issues? Are we proud that some are trying to eliminate God from our land? Has money become the only value to govern our decisions? We all raise these and other questions in our circles of family and friends, but do we take the next step?

If the souls of those who died on 9/11/11 could speak to us today, they might remind us of the great nation we do have. They also might challenge us to honor them with our efforts to change the things that make us weak, selfish and Godless. Remember how so many of them made calls to loved ones as they knew their death was so near? Remember how they taught us how precious people are in our lives and how we should not let a day go by without letting people know what they mean to us?Remember when we said that we will always remember these lessons?

Todd Beamer's cry of "Let's Roll!" should be our cry now. Let's do something, no matter what the cost to ourselves. Let's demand that our TV and Hollywood movies eliminate violence and immorality in their programming. Let's reinstate philosophy in our schools and colleges so our children grow up with the ability to discern right from wrong and can identify and reject the dangerous ideologies that threaten the noble ways of living which our country has always held sacred. Let's regulate the ways we reward those who educate our young or care for our sick. Does it not seem incongruous when a sports hero or movie star earns a mega-million salary and out teachers and nurses continue to be overworked and underpaid? We cannot have it both ways. We either choose values, or we let our country continue to slide.

Last evening we had a gathering of wonderful teens who are interested in beginning a Youth Ministry group of musicians to lend a hand in enlivening our liturgies. We had a great time during the process and this gave me great hope. I couldn't help but think of the title for today's sharing. Sometimes our children are just waiting to be asked to share their time and their talents. Our teens were asked and they said "YES!"

This leads me to think of the need we have for generosity in our world. It is not that people are not generous with their time, talent and treasure, but sometimes we equate generosity with only what I can buy for or give to someone. We forget that the best things in life really are free and life-giving. Let's hope that not only our teens come to know this, but that we remind ourselves about it as well.

To give and not to count the cost. To receive and not to count the cost. To live our lives fully and not to count the cost. How free and life-giving are we?

Praise God from whom we receive the beauty of the earth at this special time of year! Before it is too late, don't waste the moment's urging to go for a walk as the tapestry of colors in the Northeast grace us with their annual performance! Listen to the crunch ofdried leaves under your feet. Soon it will be winter and we will want to remember these days.

Our spiritual life is like that too. There are vibrant moments when we see very clearly the brilliance of God's presence in our lives. We are touched deeply in the depths of our being. We want to hold on to these moments, yet know from times past, that days will come when God's consoling presence may be distant and almost chilling us to the spiritual bone. The seasons of our lives come and go throughout all of our years and none of them are exactly the same.

I wouldn't want it any other way, for I have witnessed God's presence in all of the seasons of my life. All has been a gift to me. Yes, even the harsh winters and hot and dry summers. The Risen Lord is with me at all times and in all seasons. This is cause for great joy!

We took our Youth Ministry Teens to the annual Frightfest last night and they had a blast! We are working hard in our parish to do things for and with our young people, to help them have a great experience of church and to give them memories that will help them to remain faithful as they enter into young adulthood. This is no easy task today, in the society and world we are living in.

It is important to recognize God's love in the fun times of life, as well as in the spiritual opportunities we offer and experience and the service projects we do together.

I thank God for the opportunity to know, to work with and to offer life-giving and lasting opportunities to our teens. It is definitely worth the effort. I wonder if our parents realize how important it is to do things with their children, despite the effort it may take. They are only young once, and their childhood will be something they will look back upon often. 'Tis something to think about! !

It's the time when many of our families go away for the weekend before the colder weather comes to the Northeast! This brings to my mind the beauty of the Sabbath image in our faith. Time to refresh, time to grow in relationship with God and family and loved ones. TIme to slow down our pace. Time to let our inner selves be a sponge to the wonder of God's creation all around us. It is good to go away for a while to rest, to think, to laugh, to pray and to be at peace.

Sabbath. That is what our Sunday's were meant to be. Time to slow down and rejuvenate our lives with God and others, especially our family. Now, it is sad to say, that in many places, Sunday has become the busiest day of the week. We have filled our lives with things that could be done another day.

I pray to be able to rekindle the spirit of the Sunday Sabbath. Can we do this? Will we be the better off for it? I think so. :)

I remember when we Catholics did not eat meat on Fridays because it was an expression of sorrow and gratitude for the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross for us. Then came the Second Vatican Council and we were told that it was okay to substitute another personal deed on Fridays to continue this expression of love and gratitude. Many of us forgot about the "substitute" part.

This painting by artist Nelia Ferreira touches my soul as I greet this Friday and remember.

Good morning! Just want to share the fact that the JOY CONTINUESin the lives of those God is calling to religious life! If you are interested in finding out more about the Sisters of the Resurrection, contact our Vocation Director at www.resurrectionsisters.org.

Move and shake the world with us!

We welcome Pope Francis to our nation! follow this link to see how the Sisters heed his call to care for those in need.